Kalisto Pasuwa says FCB Nyasa Big Bullets should have defended better after conceding early in the first half to suffer a 1-0 defeat to TP Mazembe in the CAF Champions League second preliminary round first leg at Bingu National Stadium.
The People’s Team enjoyed better ball possession than the visitors, but Pasuwa’s men were only allowed to register a single shot at goal in the entire 90 minutes.
Reacting to the result, Pasuwa said his boys were good in transition, but they did not do much to trouble the Congolese giants.
“If you can see the game, it was a game that we were playing in areas that were not dangerous. We could pass the ball, keeping more possession, but we were lacking movements in the attacking third which made us fail to create meaningful chances,” he said in his post-match press conference. “But that’s what the Champions League is all about. You score one goal, you manage your lead.”
The head coach admitted Bullets were disturbed by the early goal his men conceded.
“You can even see the way the boys played, there are three players that we can point out to have performed better, one of them is Patrick Mwaungulu and if we had more players playing the way this boy played, we could have dominated the game, but we allowed them to score early and this disturbed us because we started well. We should have defended better to avoid that goal,” he explained.
Pasuwa was however more hopeful of a better performance away from home, saying it was evident against Dragon FC that his side struggled at home.
“When you asked me the same question, I told you that we struggled at home [when we played Dragon when performed well away in Equatorial Guinea]. Now that we are going to DRC, we will see how we will handle them. I am still hopeful for a better performance from my boys. Of course, the atmosphere in Congo will not be easy and we will need to do more.”
The People’s Team will be travelling to Lubumbashi and hope to turn the tables as the Malawi champions eye qualification to the group stages since 2015.
Bullets will fly to DRC next week after fulfilling two domestic fixtures, in the TNM Super League against Mighty Tigers on Thursday at Kamuzu Stadium before Sunday’s FDH Bank Cup semi-final tie against Dedza Dynamos at the same venue.
